Monday, June 28, 2010

Today I received this wonderful piece in honor of my mother from my good friend, Janet. Janet and I have known each other at least 10 years and have been through quite a few trials and tribulations together and I appreciate her gift and thoughtfulness more than she realizes. Thanks again gf, I'm always here for you just like I know you are for me.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

I was happy to see I had two designs in the recent Just Cross Stitch issue.It's hard to see but the ornament I designed is the one in the upper right corner with the small reindeer and the second piece is called "Summer Song" and is stitched on 28 ct black linen. I love the way JCS framed the piece. I wouldn't have thought of using a brown frame but after seeing it I can't imagine what other color would have looked as nice. Hope you enjoy them!

Sunday, June 06, 2010

The answer to that is mainly West Coast... Oregon, Washington, California and Nevada again. Oh and Phoenix too, not that being there is unusual for me but I may as well add it to the list.

I've been a bum, thinking only of myself and no one else, running around playing with friends and ignoring everything at home. It's been a way to relax, distract and give myself a chance to think. I've loved it and I've felt guilty but overall it was wonderful. And thank you dear, devoted David for being so understanding, smooch. I am blessed and I know it.

I started out with a trip to Oregon to visit my friend Laurel. I've known her since my son and her daughter were in first grade together. They are now 23 so it's been a while. One thing about Tucson, no one seems to stay for long. In the 20 years we've lived here, I've had seven good friends move away and Laurel was one. But like any good friend, the minute you reconnect, the time and distance disappear and it's like you never parted.

Laurel has a home in Oregon and one in Nevada. I also visited her in January, once again thinking only of myself and having a fabulous time. She mothers me, listens to me, pampers me and comforts me. She's like my husband but a better cook and doesn't work like he does so we can run around and do whatever we like.

This trip it was thrift stores! Goodwill, Savers, Salvation Army, Deseret Industries, and many little private charity thrift stores. I shipped home 6 boxes of stuff, good stuff I might add. Everyone is getting thrift store for Christmas this year.There's your warning, no complaints, no whining! My sister got a thrift store, specially-chosen-for-her item as a housewarming present. It's so her, so retro, so Brady Bunch, so...mushroomy? OK, you decide:These came from Carson City, Nevada and are now on her stove for all to admire ;-) As I said, they are so HER.

I've never been to the Oregon coast so we hopped up to Seaside Oregon for a day and since the ocean is my favorite atmosphere I was in heaven. Big, broad, windy, chilly beaches...After a bit of time in Oregon we drove to Nevada,

and did our usual rearranging furniture, decorating projects and I painted mirrors and all kinds of things black. I was picking black paint off my hands for days. Here's a before photo of one thrift store mirror, wish I had the "after" photo:

The idea here was to paint different shapes and sizes of mirrors black to hang on her dining room wall.

We hung out for 10 days and drove back to Oregon, spent 3 days in Portland and I then flew to Seattle and met up with my husband so we could visit our daughter pictured below with hubby at the Japanese Gardens in Seattle:

It was wonderful to see Maggie and her boyfriend and meet his parents. We happened to be there during mid-terms but still had fun seeing her life, friends and college life in Seattle. One of the highlights of the trip was looking outside our hotel window exactly a month to the day my mother died and seeing a rainbow:If you have followed some of my recent posts you'll realize that for me it was an important sign that my mother made it "home".

We were back in Arizona for a week and then went to Catalina Island for our 25th anniversary.Another two weeks and Nick arrived home, tired and dirty after spending the night in the Atlanta airport but it is wonderful to have him home. We've missed both our kids this past year.And in a week, Maggie will be home for a week. And that's the update from here, in a house with air conditioning kaput and an over 100 degree day. If I don't move around too suddenly I can stay cool. The a/c man can't get here soon enough tomorrow...

I have no shame so I will show you:Yes, I will stand and be counted among the nameless many who are sneaky housekeepers. If you can't see the dirt, it doesn't get cleaned until absolutely necessary. Along those same lines, the clutter may be picked up, but don't open a closet door or you could receive a severe head injury.

So the necessity to clean under the refrigerator was due to painting our kitchen and family room 2 months ago. I love it now that it's done and am thankful hubby and I had an easy time doing it. Sometimes divorce threats hang heavily unspoken when we do these kinds of projects. Here are the finished family room walls, that color is called "Sagey":

And now for no reason at all other than to show why we live in Arizona and love it:

Hello all, long time no see. I am feeling the guilt of not posting anything and will update the needlework stuff in this post and move on to another post with just a plain update. I'll start with 2 designs I had published in the current issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine.Here are two small photos I snagged off their site:

I have a couple other pieces to be published this summer I believe.JCS has had one on hold since I sent it to them last summer so it will be as much a surprise to me as to anyone when it is published. This is a sneak peek of one in progress that should be in the magazine soon.Sadly, that is the last and about only thing I have designed and stitched this year. My mind has been away from the needlework world and is having a hard time reconnecting to that part of my life. I have a few different hobbies this year and I know I'll return to the world of stitching, after all, I have stitched since I was a kid and it will always be a part of me. I like to think of this stretch as a simple break or a rest while I adjust to a new stretch of my life.

Methinks it is a token of healthy and gentle characteristics, when women of high thoughts and accomplishments love to sew; especially as they are never more at home with their own hearts than while so occupied Nathaniel Hawthorne

About Me

Welcome to my blog! I am the owner/designer for Midsummer Night Designs.I live in Tucson,AZ with my husband and have a son who graduated from Savannah College or Art and Design (SCAD) and a daughter who is a a graduate in Japanese at The University of Wash. and is currently getting her masters and working as a TA. Both live in Seattle. This blog is an assortment of my designs, stitching and thoughts and I hope you'll enjoy it.